Custom wardrobes are priced per metre of run rather than per unit, and the total is built from five separate elements: the carcass materials, the doors, the interior fittings, the fitting labour and any preparation work such as electrics or plastering. That is why two quotes for the same wall can differ so widely. One may be a lined alcove with two plain doors, the other a sprayed installation with sliding fronts, drawer banks and sensor lighting.
Rather than searching for an average figure, the more useful exercise is to understand which decisions move the number and by how much. Once you can see that, you can shape a specification to fit your budget instead of accepting whatever comes back on the quote.
Carcass materials are the boards forming the sides, back, base and shelves. This is usually the smallest part of the total. Doors are often the largest single line, particularly if they are sprayed, mirrored or hung on a sliding track. Interior fittings cover rails, drawer boxes, runners, pull out rails and lighting. Labour covers survey, delivery, assembly, scribing and adjustment on site. Preparation covers everything that happens before and after: removing an old unit, moving a socket, boxing a pipe, filling and painting.
Understanding this split explains a common surprise. Two wardrobes with the same footprint can differ substantially in price simply because one has four doors and the other has two, or because one interior has ten drawer boxes and the other has shelves.
A freestanding wardrobe is manufactured in volume to fixed dimensions, packed flat and shipped. A custom wardrobe is measured on site, cut to your walls and assembled in place by a fitter. You are paying for measurement, tolerance and skilled time, and in an older British property that time can be considerable.
What you get in return is space efficiency. A fitted run reaches the ceiling, follows a sloping wall and fills an awkward corner, so it stores more in the same floor area. In a small bedroom that gain can be worth the premium. In a regularly shaped room with standard ceiling height, the gain is smaller, and a good ready made piece from our modern wardrobes UK sale range will do a comparable job.
Hinged doors use simple concealed hinges and cost less. Sliding doors need a top and bottom track, rollers, larger panels and careful alignment, so they carry a premium. The premium buys back floor space, since nothing swings into the room.
If your budget will only stretch to one upgrade in a small bedroom, sliding fronts are usually the one worth having. Our sliding wardrobes UK sale collection is worth reviewing before you commission bespoke, because a well proportioned ready made sliding unit sometimes delivers what you actually wanted at a very different price.
Melamine faced board is the most economical finish and comes in convincing wood effects as well as plain colours. Foil or vinyl wrapped MDF sits slightly above it and allows profiled doors. Real wood veneer costs more and brings genuine grain. Sprayed lacquer, whether matt or high gloss, is the most expensive because it requires preparation, controlled spraying and curing time.
Mirror and glass panels add cost through the material and through the extra care needed in handling and fitting. A single mirrored door in a run of plain ones is a good compromise, giving you a full length reflection without pricing the whole front as glass. Alternatively a piece from our modern cheval mirrors UK range does the same job independently of the joinery.
Drawer boxes are the biggest interior cost. Each one has sides, a base, a front and a pair of runners, and soft close runners cost more than basic ones. Pull out trouser rails, tie racks, jewellery inserts, wire baskets and lift up hampers all sit in the same category: genuinely useful, individually priced.
A cost aware interior keeps drawers to a minimum inside the wardrobe and puts folded storage into a separate piece of furniture. A unit from our modern chest of drawers UK sale selection typically costs far less than the equivalent number of built in drawer boxes, and it can be moved, sold or repurposed later. Fitted drawers cannot.
Internal lighting needs a power supply, and that usually means an electrician plus some making good. Removing an old wardrobe and disposing of the waste is often a separate charge. If the wall behind was never decorated, you may need to paint before the new unit goes up. Carpet may need trimming or a section lifted. Where a wardrobe encloses a radiator pipe or a service, boxing in adds time.
Ask specifically about scribe fillets and caulking at the wall junction, because that small finishing detail is the difference between a crisp result and a visible gap. Ask, too, whether the quote includes a second visit for adjustments, since doors often need tweaking once the room settles.
Request a written breakdown against the five elements above. Confirm the board thickness, the door finish, the hinge or track manufacturer and the runner type. Check the guarantee, and check whether it covers hardware as well as the panels. Confirm who is responsible for electrics, waste and decoration.
Then compare the total against a ready made alternative including delivery, so the comparison is honest. Our modern bedroom furniture UK sale pages make that benchmark straightforward, and we offer free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes with returns available up to 30 days.
Sloping ceilings in loft conversions, deep chimney alcoves, long narrow rooms, spaces with an odd return and homes where you intend to stay for many years all reward a fitted approach. In these cases the wasted volume in a freestanding solution is large enough that the premium pays for itself in usable storage.
Where the room is a simple rectangle with standard ceilings, the calculation is much closer, and many people are better served by spending the difference on better quality freestanding pieces, a good mattress or proper lighting.
There is a large difference between reducing cost and reducing quality, and the two are easy to confuse. Cutting the board thickness, accepting basic hinges or choosing unbranded runners saves a small amount now and creates problems later, because those are the parts that carry load and wear. Reducing the quantity of expensive components, on the other hand, costs you nothing in longevity.
So keep the hardware quality high and reduce the count. Specify fewer, deeper drawers rather than many shallow ones. Use adjustable shelves instead of fixed dividers, since adjustable shelving adapts as your storage needs change and costs less to build. Choose one full height mirrored door rather than mirroring an entire run. Use double hanging in the sections that hold shirts and jackets, which nearly doubles capacity within the same footprint for the price of a second rail.
Internal lighting is the item most often cut, and often rightly so. A well positioned ceiling fitting or a lamp does much of the same work for a fraction of the outlay, and it does not require an electrician or making good afterwards.
Bespoke work takes time, and that time has a cost of its own even when it does not appear on the invoice. Expect a survey, then a manufacturing period, then an installation window, and expect the room to be unusable for at least part of it. Bedrooms are the hardest rooms in a house to lose, so plan around it rather than discovering the problem midway.
Ask specifically for the lead time from order to installation and whether the fitter attends on consecutive days. A run of doors that arrives on day one but is only adjusted a fortnight later leaves you living with a partially finished room. Ask, too, whether the manufacturer holds stock of the door finish, because a damaged panel on a discontinued colour can delay completion considerably.
By contrast a ready made wardrobe arrives on a scheduled delivery and is usable the same day, which for many households is the deciding factor rather than price. If you want to compare that convenience directly, our delivery information and the full range sit together at Furniture in Fashion.
Because they include different things. Door type, finish, number of drawer boxes, lighting, waste removal and making good all vary between quotes for the same wall.
Rarely. Freestanding pieces are made in volume, so they cost less for the same capacity. Fitted joinery wins on space efficiency and appearance rather than on price.
Reducing the number of drawer boxes and switching to shelves, followed by choosing a board finish rather than a sprayed one.
An indicative figure can be given from your own measurements, but no firm quote should be issued without a site survey, because wall condition and floor level affect labour significantly.
Yes, and it is often the most sensible route. Fit the awkward alcove and use freestanding drawers and bedside pieces for everything else, keeping flexibility for the future.
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